News quiz for week ending 2/24/17

Questions

1. To commemorate George Washington’s birthday each year, __________ conducts a reading of his Farewell Address.
a) the President
b) the Senate
c) every public school in the U.S.
d) the U.S. Supreme Court

2. When the Gettysburg National Cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863, the principal speaker was the renowned orator, Edward Everett. As was common for the day, his detailed speech lasted for over two hours. President Lincoln also had been invited to present “a few appropriate remarks” only as an afterthought. His remarks – the Gettysburg Address – lasted __________ that day.
a) 2 minutes
b) 20 minutes
c) 2 hours
d) 2 hours and 20 minutes

3. President Trump introduced Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster as the new __________ this week.
a) National Security Advisor
b) Chief of staff
c) Ambassador to the UN
d) Secretary of Defense

4. All but which one are true of Lt. Gen. McMaster:
a) he holds a Ph.D in military history
b) he was captain of a great tank battle victory in the Gulf War known as the Battle of 73 Easting
c) he served in the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan
d) he is a pacifist

5. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly moved Tuesday to implement immigration enforcement changes ordered by President Trump. He directed agency heads to do all but which one?
a) hire thousands more border patrol and immigration officers
b) issue an itemized bill for labor and materials to send to Mexico
c) begin work on the president’s promised U.S.-Mexico border wall
d) end so-called “catch-and-release” policies

6. The Hill reported on Tuesday that a Harvard poll shows President Trump has broad public support in his effort to crack down on sanctuary cities. The poll found that ________ of voters believe that cities that arrest illegal immigrants for crimes should be required to turn them over to federal authorities.
a) 8%
b) 18%
c) 48%
d) 80%

7. The College Board, which owns and administers the SAT college-entrance exam, has failed to stop a widespread and known security problem, which has led to multiple incidents of cheating overseas. __________ are gathering questions and reading passages from past SAT exams, and then giving their clients that material to practice upon. The questions later show up on SAT exams administered overseas, giving an unfair advantage to students who have seen them.
a) North Korean government agents
b) Iran’s morality police
c) Asian test-preparation companies
d) Russian secret police

8. In an effort to address the cheating scandal, the College Board said it will:
a) end its practice of reusing test forms overseas that were initially given in the U.S., which is the source of many of its security lapses
b) encourage exam administrators in each testing center to “watch the students like a hawk”
c) stop administering the SAT exam overseas
d) reduce the number of times the test is given outside the U.S. from six a year to four

9. Talking to reporters before a budget meeting this week, President Trump said the main focus of his budget plan, which he will present in an address to a joint session of Congress next week, is to:
a) increase taxes on the wealthy
b) cut taxes for billionaires
c) cut spending
d) increase spending

10. The purpose of the President’s budget plan is to:
a) reduce the national debt
b) increase the national debt
c) implement permanent taxes on the wealthy
d) all of the above